I Have Seen The World of Tron…

To say that Tron: Legacy is one of the most anticipated movies of the year is like saying that the sky is blue or that the grass is green. Along with a few thousand other rabid Tron fans, I saw 8 minutes of footage from the upcoming sequel in 3D earlier today.

The clip begins with Sam Flynn uttering the words “this isn’t happening” as a Recognizer descends on his position atop a platform. Two guards clad in revamped iconic Tron suits laced in glowing red snatch Sam and notice that “this program has no disc.” He must be “another stray” and throw him into the Recognizer where he’s greeted by three programs. The Recog lifts off and sweeping views of Tron city cause Sam to blurt out, “he actually did it.” The program next to him suggests he stay quiet if he wants to live. None of the others seem phased by Sam asking about Kevin Flynn. One program can’t stop muttering “games, games, games.” And another has half his face missing or deleted.

And then I started freaking out.

The guards reappear and scan each program. Programs are either classified as “rectified” or as “games.” One program can’t seem to handle his classification and runs off screaming, “erase me” as he jumps off the platform into a turbine.

Sam is sent down a tube for “games” where he is surrounded by four gorgeous ladytron beauties clad in white and high heels. Two of the four programs quickly laser off his clothes with their laser fingers and before Sam realizes it, he’s encased in a black unitard. While collecting Sam’s armor and gear, one of the programs remarks that “he’s different.” And then his suit flickers on. Sam is then given an identity disc and informed that if he loses his disc or fails to follow commands he will be subject to immediate deresolution.

“Disc activated and synchronized. Proceed to games.”

Confused Sam asks what he’s supposed to do. Before the last program retreats to her cocoon she simply tells Sam to “survive.”

Another two minutes are shown of Sam fending off some radical looking dudes and we see Michael Sheen clad in white looking like a hybrid of Jim Carrey’s Joker and David Bowie. The boys from Daft Punk are tasked with “setting the mood.”

The best part of the clip has to be the 35-year-old Jeff Bridges who hasn’t aged a bit since the original Tron. During the press conference before the panel, Bridges joked that his younger self just hung around the set eating carbs and chatting up Olivia Wilde.

As a special treat, the crew from Skywalker Sound was scattered throughout the auditorium and attendees were asked to recite in unison phrases like “Riz-Ler,” “Disc Wars” and “Dee-Rez” for a chance to be put stadium scenes in the movie. So, yeah, if turns out well, I could be in Tron: Legacy!

And we might be seeing the original re-released in “some exciting new formats, hopefully some time soon.”